The Athletic<\/a> penned a lengthy article about Woodruff, there are a couple of pieces to his story that fans might not know.<\/p>\nFor instance, Woodruff’s brother Blake died in an ATV accident back in 2016. The Brewers, according to Kepner, told Brandon to take time off. As much as he needed. But a week later, Brandon was back pitching again.<\/p>\n
Of course, Woodruff’s injuries have proven tough for him and the ballclub. There’s even a chance that the Brewers would have gotten into the World Series if a healthy Woodruff had been around for the postseason push…instead of sitting on the sidelines.<\/p>\n
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Brewers scout Scott Nichols has been following Woodruff’s path from Mississippi State and has had quite a history intertwined with Woodruff.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just got lucky,\u201d Nichols told Kepner. \u201cEverybody backed off of him because of the year he had. I had seen him in high school, too \u2014 great kid \u2014 but Bruce Seid was our scouting director, and I had to beg him to take him in the 11th round.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Brewers have made it to postseason play in the past three seasons. But they have not been able to snag a National League pennant, an alluring thing that has remained out of their grasp. Kepner pointed out that Milwaukee might have been able to get one in those three seasons if a healthy Woodruff had been able to pitch.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, probably not super healthy to play the \u2018what if?\u2019 game for all of us,\u201d Brewers general manager Matt Arnold said. \u201cAnytime you lose a guy like that right before the playoffs, it\u2019s tough, and I know it was emotional for him and certainly for all of us.<\/p>\n
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“He\u2019s been such a key person for us for a lot of years,” Arnold said. “Having that guy back and healthy with a full, normal offseason, I know he\u2019s really excited about it. We all are.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Woodruff can stay healthy this season, then the Brewers might find themselves back in the postseason. Hopefully, Woodruff can play a role in getting that elusive NL pennant flying above American Family Field in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n
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